Final answer:
Raymond Dart proposed the Killer Ape Theory, suggesting violence drove human evolution, based on his analysis of the Australopithecus africanus skull. His theory has been largely discredited, with modern science favoring cooperation and tool-making as pivotal for evolution.
Step-by-step explanation:
Raymond Dart, an anthropologist, proposed the Killer Ape Theory which suggested that violence was the engine of change in human evolution. Dart based this theory on his discovery of the Australopithecus africanus skull, often referred to as the Taung Child. He interpreted certain features of the skull, like the lack of large canines, to suggest that early hominids exhibited aggressive behavior, which he believed was a significant factor driving evolution. However, the evidence that Dart used to support his theory was largely circumstantial and became subject to criticism.
Later findings in paleoanthropology and comparative studies of primate behavior have largely discredited the Killer Ape Theory. The consensus in modern science is that cooperative behavior, tool-making, and environmental adaptation played more significant roles in human evolution than innate aggression. Dart's interpretation has been replaced by a more nuanced understanding of human evolutionary history.